A wife who loses a husband is called a widow. A husband who loses a wife is called a widower. A child who loses his parents is called an orphan. But...there is no word for a parent who loses a child, that's how awful the loss is! - Neugeboren 1976, 154

The loss of a child is the loss of innocence, the death of the most vulnerable and dependent. The death of a child signifies the loss of the future, of hopes and dreams, of new strength, and of perfection. - Arnold and Gemma 1994, iv, 9, 39

Bereaved parents learn to live with the memories, the lost hopes, the shattered dreams. [They] never "get over" the death, but [they] do recover, adjust and learn to live with [the] pain. – DONNELLY 1982, X